# What were they smoking in colonial America?



## JohnBrody15 (Mar 20, 2016)

Being back east recently and visiting some revolutionary war era sites, I wondered what they were putting in their pipes circa 1776ish. 

Did they only have access to certain kinds of tobacco and only smoked certain blends? Was the Syrian Latakia coming in on ships or were they just smoking burley and Virginia? 

I’m wondering If there are current blends that might be reminiscing of that time. 

Lots of info on tobacco as a crop in terms of the economics and culture of the time, but Not much in regards to what I’m curious about. 

Any thoughts? 


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## Alrightdriver (May 2, 2017)

Following this.. It's a great question, and the historian in me really wants to know. 

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## NormH3 (Apr 20, 2015)

I wonder if you contacted a local Revolutionary reenactment group and asked. Those guys and gals attempt to recreate everything to the minute detail. It would be interesting to know how far they would take it. I grew up within walking distance of our only Revolution battle. It was more of a skirmish, but it was the beginning of the British campaign to capture Philadelphia which led to Washington wintering in Valley Forge, Pa.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

I think it's a safe bet that they were primarily smoking locally grown tobacco. Doubtful these were even blended, rather just cut from single-crop twists or whole leaf. 

Tobacco was one of the most important export crops during colonial days, largely responsible for English interest in establishing the earliest coastal colonies in the Virginias. Tobacco was new and novel to Europeans; a New World plant previously unknown in the rest of the world. IOW, the colonies are where pipe smoking and related tobacco originated.

At roughly the same time, Spanish society was discovering the joys of cigar smoking, from their Caribbean colonies.

Latakia, BTW, was likely unknown before sometime around the 1830's, and probably not widely available in in use until decades later.


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## JohnBrody15 (Mar 20, 2016)

NormH3 said:


> I wonder if you contacted a local Revolutionary reenactment group and asked. Those guys and gals attempt to recreate everything to the minute detail. It would be interesting to know how far they would take it. I grew up within walking distance of our only Revolution battle. It was more of a skirmish, but it was the beginning of the British campaign to capture Philadelphia which led to Washington wintering in Valley Forge, Pa.


That's a great idea!! And probably easy enough to send out a few emails......



curmudgeonista said:


> I think it's a safe bet that they were primarily smoking locally grown tobacco. Doubtful these were even blended, rather just cut from single-crop twists or whole leaf.
> 
> Tobacco was one of the most important export crops during colonial days, largely responsible for English interest in establishing the earliest coastal colonies in the Virginias. Tobacco was new and novel to Europeans; a New World plant previously unknown in the rest of the world. IOW, the colonies are where pipe smoking and related tobacco originated.
> 
> ...


Very interesting. It opens up a larger topic of "the history of pipe smoking" or smoking in general. It's also interesting to think about pipe tobacco developing along side cigars and cigar smoking..... Although in addition to that, they must have been smoking other tobaccos in the middle east for however many years, and that's a whole 'nother part of it.

This is where it would be fun to research, but apparently they were harvesting a tobacco seed from Bermuda by the mid 1600's in Jamestown. So 100 years later, I'd wonder I wonder how far they would have gotten with growing and cultivating techniques, which would affect what they were smoking.

I'll get into this a little more, probably contacting a reenactment group is the best bet though.....


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## Alrightdriver (May 2, 2017)

JohnBrody15 said:


> That's a great idea!! And probably easy enough to send out a few emails......
> 
> Very interesting. It opens up a larger topic of "the history of pipe smoking" or smoking in general. It's also interesting to think about pipe tobacco developing along side cigars and cigar smoking..... Although in addition to that, they must have been smoking other tobaccos in the middle east for however many years, and that's a whole 'nother part of it.
> 
> ...


One source you might be able to check with is in Winston Salem nc. Old Salem.. A historical town where they do tours and still make things the same way they did back then. The staff Even dress in period appropriate clothing. I've been there a few times and the people they have in the different areas have always impressed me with their knowledge. I'm sure someone there could answer the question.

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## JohnBrody15 (Mar 20, 2016)

I was hoping that some brand might have an offering that is reminiscent of the old time stuff, but even without that, the history is pretty interesting. 


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## msmith1986 (Apr 24, 2017)

The major producers in the early 1700s were MD, VA, and NC. There were two major tobacco types that were grown, sweet scented and Oronoco. Oronoco was coarser, bulkier, and the shape of the leaf was pointier. Sweet-scented leaves were rounder and were made up of finer fibers. Oronoco was grown all over the Chesapeake Bay, and Sweet-scented was only grown along the Potomac. 
I've often asked local historians around me here in York county PA when tobacco started to be grown here since you see most growing in Lancaster, York, Chester, and Adams counties. They've always told me it is foggy history before around 1800 because the focus of documented history before that was on the Revolutionary War/Independence efforts. For example, York was the capital of the continental Congress from 1775-1783. Even though lots of agriculture and industry (including tobacco) surrounded the area, war efforts and the AOC written here were documented more than anything else.
The next part that is very unclear is when cigars made their debut in America, because not much documentation exists from before 1800 or so (at least that I've been able to find). It's evident that the first tobacco crops in the colonies were used for pipe-smoking, chew, and snuff, and also exported to Europe for those same three uses as trade for other goods and profits to support colony growth. The sad part is, when cigars arrive on the scene, pipe smoking obviously stays through today, but gets forgotten due to the boom in cigar popularity nearing the civil war. "Cigar grade" tobacco is mentioned here and there as early as 1750 in colonial American history but is very scarce and hard to come by some 260 years later.
The OP's question remains: what were they smoking in revolutionary america? Well we looked at 2 main kinds grown for pipes and chew, so here's part of a write-up I found regarding cigars being smoked at the same time and continuing to today:
"Farmers experimented using Cuban seed to grow cigar-grade tobacco in both MD and CT before the Revolutionary War. After the War, the new U.S. Government supported the expansion of population, agriculture, and tobacco.*As cigar tobacco culture succeeded, small, often one-man, factories followed,* able to relocate thanks to ever-expanding new roads, railroads and canals. Aided in no small part by the fact that an entire cigar factory could fit in one carry-on bag, with room to spare. And if it got lost, the necessary tools could be replaced for two or three dollars; a week’s wages for a soldier or laborer. If a cluster of factories developed, they were soon supported by box makers, wholesalers and distributors. If cigar rollers didn’t set up shop fast enough, towns would advertise in cigar-country newspapers asking a cigar maker (factory) to take up residence.* By the Civil War, the variety and volume of good cigar leaf was increasing in NY, PA, OH, CT, MA, MD, and IL. The estimates of* how many domestic cigar factories were operating before the Civil War vary, but an estimate made in 1860 says there were at least 1,478 cigar factories and 8,000 people employed nationwide. 1860-1870 is the decade the American Cigar Industry was “born” when in 1863 the Federal Government began making the ground rules for cigar makers: quantities of tobacco, type of boxes, number of cigars in packages, notices, warnings, taxes and tax stamps, signs, moving tobacco, selling tobacco, licenses, employee bonds...the rules of the game-business."
So in conclusion, that last bit covered 100 years or so very quickly, and points to cigars and pipes coexisting in American history (along with tax revenue and regulations). It seems pipes and cigars go hand in hand, side by side from the beginning. I love both, and history always fascinates me. 



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## Alrightdriver (May 2, 2017)

msmith1986 said:


> The major producers in the early 1700s were MD, VA, and NC. There were two major tobacco types that were grown, sweet scented and Oronoco. Oronoco was coarser, bulkier, and the shape of the leaf was pointier. Sweet-scented leaves were rounder and were made up of finer fibers. Oronoco was grown all over the Chesapeake Bay, and Sweet-scented was only grown along the Potomac.
> I've often asked local historians around me here in York county PA when tobacco started to be grown here since you see most growing in Lancaster, York, Chester, and Adams counties. They've always told me it is foggy history before around 1800 because the focus of documented history before that was on the Revolutionary War/Independence efforts. For example, York was the capital of the continental Congress from 1775-1783. Even though lots of agriculture and industry (including tobacco) surrounded the area, war efforts and the AOC written here were documented more than anything else.
> The next part that is very unclear is when cigars made their debut in America, because not much documentation exists from before 1800 or so (at least that I've been able to find). It's evident that the first tobacco crops in the colonies were used for pipe-smoking, chew, and snuff, and also exported to Europe for those same three uses as trade for other goods and profits to support colony growth. The sad part is, when cigars arrive on the scene, pipe smoking obviously stays through today, but gets forgotten due to the boom in cigar popularity nearing the civil war. "Cigar grade" tobacco is mentioned here and there as early as 1750 in colonial American history but is very scarce and hard to come by some 260 years later.
> The OP's question remains: what were they smoking in revolutionary america? Well we looked at 2 main kinds grown for pipes and chew, so here's part of a write-up I found regarding cigars being smoked at the same time and continuing to today:
> ...


Great write up Matt!

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## NormH3 (Apr 20, 2015)

msmith1986 said:


> The major producers in the early 1700s were MD, VA, and NC. There were two major tobacco types that were grown, sweet scented and Oronoco. Oronoco was coarser, bulkier, and the shape of the leaf was pointier. Sweet-scented leaves were rounder and were made up of finer fibers. Oronoco was grown all over the Chesapeake Bay, and Sweet-scented was only grown along the Potomac.
> I've often asked local historians around me here in York county PA when tobacco started to be grown here since you see most growing in Lancaster, York, Chester, and Adams counties. They've always told me it is foggy history before around 1800 because the focus of documented history before that was on the Revolutionary War/Independence efforts. For example, York was the capital of the continental Congress from 1775-1783. Even though lots of agriculture and industry (including tobacco) surrounded the area, war efforts and the AOC written here were documented more than anything else.
> The next part that is very unclear is when cigars made their debut in America, because not much documentation exists from before 1800 or so (at least that I've been able to find). It's evident that the first tobacco crops in the colonies were used for pipe-smoking, chew, and snuff, and also exported to Europe for those same three uses as trade for other goods and profits to support colony growth. The sad part is, when cigars arrive on the scene, pipe smoking obviously stays through today, but gets forgotten due to the boom in cigar popularity nearing the civil war. "Cigar grade" tobacco is mentioned here and there as early as 1750 in colonial American history but is very scarce and hard to come by some 260 years later.
> The OP's question remains: what were they smoking in revolutionary america? Well we looked at 2 main kinds grown for pipes and chew, so here's part of a write-up I found regarding cigars being smoked at the same time and continuing to today:
> ...


I really have the tobacco DNA in me. Had colonial ancestors in Maryland and Virginia that grew tobacco. I don't think my York County peeps were ever involved in it.


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## msmith1986 (Apr 24, 2017)

NormH3 said:


> I really have the tobacco DNA in me. Had colonial ancestors in Maryland and Virginia that grew tobacco. I don't think my York County peeps were ever involved in it.


My dad's side of the family is Smith and Franklin. Lots of history in my area. Col. James Smith's resting place is next to a small church in center city York. Most of the Franklin's are gone because the life expectancy back then wasn't very long, and there were so many females in the last 12-14 generations that didn't carry on the name. My brother has a son and a daughter, I have 2 daughters, and my Smith cousins either have no kids or have daughters. There goes the Smith name in hurry, lol.

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## msmith1986 (Apr 24, 2017)

Alrightdriver said:


> Great write up Matt!
> 
> Sent from my LGL82VL using Tapatalk


Well, sometimes I have to compete with Jack and Gary for length of posts. I certainly can't compete with Gary in the grumpy old man humor department. 

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## JohnBrody15 (Mar 20, 2016)

msmith1986 said:


> The major producers in the early 1700s were MD, VA, and NC. There were two major tobacco types that were grown, sweet scented and Oronoco. Oronoco was coarser, bulkier, and the shape of the leaf was pointier. Sweet-scented leaves were rounder and were made up of finer fibers. Oronoco was grown all over the Chesapeake Bay, and Sweet-scented was only grown along the Potomac.
> I've often asked local historians around me here in York county PA when tobacco started to be grown here since you see most growing in Lancaster, York, Chester, and Adams counties. They've always told me it is foggy history before around 1800 because the focus of documented history before that was on the Revolutionary War/Independence efforts. For example, York was the capital of the continental Congress from 1775-1783. Even though lots of agriculture and industry (including tobacco) surrounded the area, war efforts and the AOC written here were documented more than anything else.
> The next part that is very unclear is when cigars made their debut in America, because not much documentation exists from before 1800 or so (at least that I've been able to find). It's evident that the first tobacco crops in the colonies were used for pipe-smoking, chew, and snuff, and also exported to Europe for those same three uses as trade for other goods and profits to support colony growth. The sad part is, when cigars arrive on the scene, pipe smoking obviously stays through today, but gets forgotten due to the boom in cigar popularity nearing the civil war. "Cigar grade" tobacco is mentioned here and there as early as 1750 in colonial American history but is very scarce and hard to come by some 260 years later.
> The OP's question remains: what were they smoking in revolutionary america? Well we looked at 2 main kinds grown for pipes and chew, so here's part of a write-up I found regarding cigars being smoked at the same time and continuing to today:
> ...


Excellent write up.. Thanks for that. I searched one terms and I've been down a rabbit hole lol. "Oronoco" lead me to some interesting articles a free book about tobacco in Virginia. Looks like it started in Jamestown around 1600 from seeds from Spanish colonies in the west indies. This guy John Rolfe was trying to cultivate and cure a tobacco that was as good or better than the imported Spanish stuff they were getting in England. 
He finally got something (although I'd love to know specifically what he did) that the English really liked, and then Jamestown and all the surrounding area became tobacco-land. From Goochland through Richmond, the James River, York River, and Accomac Peninsula. Various factors had settlers moving west and north from the Jamestown area, and it was in the 1700's that they started to move north.

Apparently they smoked in clay pipes. By the mid 1700's there was a brand from Warrenton, VA called Edmonium tobacco. I have yet to find any info about it. Still reading though lol....


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## Joe Sticks (May 31, 2016)

JohnBrody15: "Apparently they smoked in clay pipes. "

I'm a big fan of clay pipes based on historical designs. Tobacco was a very expensive luxury item for Europeans for quite some time. I have a clay pipe made by a professor in England who is an authority on clay pipes. He's done a lot of historical research and archaeological digs. The pipe is based on a design from the 1500s and has an extremely small bowl - about the size of the tip of a lady's little finger. Good for a just pinch of that precious tobacco leaf.

As production increased over the years and prices came down for tobacco, pipe bowls grew larger. On that score, we today are blessed by the abundance.


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## JohnBrody15 (Mar 20, 2016)

That brings up a few other interesting aspects. The pipe itself and how different things influenced aspects of design. But yeah, in reading about tobacco history, I'm seeing s lot about clay pipes. 
I think you're @Joe Sticks onto something pretty cool with smoking and collecting clay pipes as part of the experience.

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## msmith1986 (Apr 24, 2017)

JohnBrody15 said:


> Excellent write up.. Thanks for that. I searched one terms and I've been down a rabbit hole lol. "Oronoco" lead me to some interesting articles a free book about tobacco in Virginia. Looks like it started in Jamestown around 1600 from seeds from Spanish colonies in the west indies. This guy John Rolfe was trying to cultivate and cure a tobacco that was as good or better than the imported Spanish stuff they were getting in England.
> He finally got something (although I'd love to know specifically what he did) that the English really liked, and then Jamestown and all the surrounding area became tobacco-land. From Goochland through Richmond, the James River, York River, and Accomac Peninsula. Various factors had settlers moving west and north from the Jamestown area, and it was in the 1700's that they started to move north.
> 
> Apparently they smoked in clay pipes. By the mid 1700's there was a brand from Warrenton, VA called Edmonium tobacco. I have yet to find any info about it. Still reading though lol....


Google it and spell it Orinoco tobacco. There are heirloom seeds for sale from a few different places. I would like to plant some one of these years. Ferment it and add some of my rum for a tasty tobacco smoke. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

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## JohnBrody15 (Mar 20, 2016)

msmith1986 said:


> Google it and spell it Orinoco tobacco. There are heirloom seeds for sale from a few different places. I would like to plant some one of these years. Ferment it and add some of my rum for a tasty tobacco smoke. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
> 
> Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk


Ahh much better with the appropriate spelling. And I will put that in my pipe and smoke it when you've got a batch ready! That sounds awesome.

If you're interested, check out this: Full text of "Tobacco in Colonial Virginia "The Sovereign Remedy""

Look under the heading, "varieties."

It talks about Orinoco and sweet scented and tries to put together how they developed in the colonial days and into the 1800s.

It also talks about "crop management" and how different techniques developed. Apparently all tobacco was air cured until the 1800's. SO if you're gonna grow some tobacco you might want to put on some colonial gear and do it like they did!


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## NormH3 (Apr 20, 2015)

Thought y'all would like this scene from "The Borgias". Cynthia and I have been watching the series on Netflix.


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## msmith1986 (Apr 24, 2017)

NormH3 said:


> Thought y'all would like this scene from "The Borgias". Cynthia and I have been watching the series on Netflix.


Turds? Lol. I'm gonna check that show out.

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## NormH3 (Apr 20, 2015)

msmith1986 said:


> Turds? Lol. I'm gonna check that show out.
> 
> Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk


This scene was somewhere in the second season. Several scenes after this shows the Pope enjoying a turd...er cigaro


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## Gigmaster (Jan 12, 2009)

During the Colonial Period (17th and 18th centuries...), one type of tobacco predominated...Virginia. In the beginnings of colonization, settlers had to be content with the local wild tobacco, _Nicotania rustica_, which was very dark, harsh and had a huge amount of nicotine. It was cultivated by Native Americans, mostly for ceremonial purposes. At the time, the Spanish had a virtual monopoly on high quality tobaccos grown in S. America, and guarded the seeds much as we do Uranium today. At great risk, English colonist John Rolfe, who would later become famous for marryng the Native American girl Pocahontas, obtained smuggled seeds from the excellent plants grown in the Orinoco region of the Amazon River Valley, in 1621. He planted them and they flourished in the swampy bottomlands of the James River, and eventually became what we know today as Virginia tobacco. In 1650, Edward Digges obtained some Virginia seeds and planted them in the York Valley's sandy soil. This produced a leaf that was much milder, sweeter, and more aromatic. It was known as ED, or E Digges tobacco. These constituted the bulk of the pipe tobacco smoked during the colonial period.


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## JohnBrody15 (Mar 20, 2016)

There's a decent amount of info about Edward Digges that I want to read through. 

I was looking at D and R three sails, it's flue cured Virginia. Since nothing was fire cured until the 1800's, and three sails is pure Virginia, maybe that's the one. I could smoke it in a clay pipe and pretend that I'm Ben Franklin or something like that lol


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## huffer33 (Jun 13, 2017)

JohnBrody15 said:


> There's a decent amount of info about Edward Digges that I want to read through.
> 
> I was looking at D and R three sails, it's flue cured Virginia. Since nothing was fire cured until the 1800's, and three sails is pure Virginia, maybe that's the one. I could smoke it in a clay pipe and pretend that I'm Ben Franklin or something like that lol


Pics of the wig please? :grin2:


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## JohnBrody15 (Mar 20, 2016)

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## msmith1986 (Apr 24, 2017)

JohnBrody15 said:


> There's a decent amount of info about Edward Digges that I want to read through.
> 
> I was looking at D and R three sails, it's flue cured Virginia. Since nothing was fire cured until the 1800's, and three sails is pure Virginia, maybe that's the one. I could smoke it in a clay pipe and pretend that I'm Ben Franklin or something like that lol


My dad's mom's side of the family are Franklin's. I never heard of Ben ever smoking. Sadly, he didn't drink much compared to others of those days either. We can imagine it though, lol.

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## JohnBrody15 (Mar 20, 2016)

msmith1986 said:


> My dad's mom's side of the family are Franklin's. I never heard of Ben ever smoking. Sadly, he didn't drink much compared to others of those days either. We can imagine it though, lol.
> 
> Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk


That's some excellent lineage right there! I️ just picked the first founding father that came to mind with my comment. Although I️ assumes they all smoked lol.

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## huffer33 (Jun 13, 2017)

msmith1986 said:


> My dad's mom's side of the family are Franklin's. I never heard of Ben ever smoking. Sadly, he didn't drink much compared to others of those days either. We can imagine it though, lol.
> 
> Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk


That is really cool. Maternal ancestors on my dad's side were very very early Huguenots fleeing persecution and several of them fought in the revolution (both maternal and paternal). I've looked but I don't see any Founding Father connections though.


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## msmith1986 (Apr 24, 2017)

huffer33 said:


> That is really cool. Maternal ancestors on my dad's side were very very early Huguenots fleeing persecution and several of them fought in the revolution (both maternal and paternal). I've looked but I don't see any Founding Father connections though.


My dad's dad's side is Smith, and linked to Col. James Smith from here in York, who was close to G. Washington during the war and also signed the declaration. Lots of history close to me in this area where I live.

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## huffer33 (Jun 13, 2017)

msmith1986 said:


> My dad's dad's side is Smith, and linked to Col. James Smith from here in York, who was close to G. Washington during the war and also signed the declaration. Lots of history close to me in this area where I live.
> 
> Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk


Here's to all of them!!

Pvt. John Ingalsbee
Capt. Ebenezer Ingalsbee
Pvt. Bezaleel Maynard
Freelove Blake


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## JohnBrody15 (Mar 20, 2016)

That’s excellent. You guys have some folks in your family that go way back. 




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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

One of my cousins who is our _de facto_ family historian for that side of the family dug up this trade card of a distant relative who was in the tobacco business circa ~1750. Even though he was based in London and snuff was apparently his main line, the card also mentions "Pigtail and Cut Tobacco" which I assume was aimed at pipe smokers and likely imported from the American colonies.


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## JohnBrody15 (Mar 20, 2016)

curmudgeonista said:


> One of my cousins who is our _de facto_ family historian for that side of the family dug up this trade card of a distant relative who was in the tobacco business circa ~1750. Even though he was based in London and snuff was apparently his main line, the card also mentions "Pigtail and Cut Tobacco" which I assume was aimed at pipe smokers and likely imported from the American colonies.
> 
> View attachment 182122


Looks like they were virginia leaves hand spun into a rope. Gawith, Hoggarth & Company's "black pigtail" is currently available. Might have to give it a try for the sake of it.


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## davek (Feb 2, 2018)

Gigmaster said:


> During the Colonial Period (17th and 18th centuries...), one type of tobacco predominated...Virginia. In the beginnings of colonization, settlers had to be content with the local wild tobacco, _Nicotania rustica_, which was very dark, harsh and had a huge amount of nicotine. It was cultivated by Native Americans, mostly for ceremonial purposes. At the time, the Spanish had a virtual monopoly on high quality tobaccos grown in S. America, and guarded the seeds much as we do Uranium today. At great risk, English colonist John Rolfe, who would later become famous for marryng the Native American girl Pocahontas, obtained smuggled seeds from the excellent plants grown in the Orinoco region of the Amazon River Valley, in 1621. He planted them and they flourished in the swampy bottomlands of the James River, and eventually became what we know today as Virginia tobacco. In 1650, Edward Digges obtained some Virginia seeds and planted them in the York Valley's sandy soil. This produced a leaf that was much milder, sweeter, and more aromatic. It was known as ED, or E Digges tobacco. These constituted the bulk of the pipe tobacco smoked during the colonial period.


This.

America was built on hemp and tobacco. England needed the climate here to produce their own. The most important technology of the time, clipper ships, used a lot of hemp for rigging and sails.

wikipedia "John Rolfe"
"Orinoco tobacco: a cash crop[edit]
In competing with Spain for European markets, there was another problem beside the warmer climates the Spanish settlements enjoyed. The native tobacco from Virginia was not liked by the English settlers, nor did it appeal to the market in England. However, Rolfe wanted to introduce sweeter strains from Trinidad, using the hard-to-obtain Spanish seeds he brought with him. In 1611, Rolfe was the first to commercially cultivate Nicotiana tabacum tobacco plants in North America; export of this sweeter tobacco beginning in 1612 helped turn the Virginia Colony into a profitable venture. Rolfe named his Virginia-grown strain of the tobacco "Orinoco", possibly in honour of tobacco popularizer Sir Walter Raleigh's expeditions in the 1580s up the Orinoco River in Guiana in search of the legendary City of Gold, El Dorado.[2] The appeal of Orinoco tobacco was in its nicotine, and the conviviality of its use in social situations.[3]"


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## msmith1986 (Apr 24, 2017)

Awesome how more history comes into play as we go and gain more members with more input. Good stuff fellas.

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